


The Crows

by capuberra



Series: Avatar AU [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Established Relationship, Established Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capuberra/pseuds/capuberra
Summary: Daisuga-focused Avatar AUDespite the fact that they haven't done any pro-bending since their days in the neighborhood youth league, Suga gets it in his head to enter a local tournament— if they can convince their firebender to get back in the ring.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Series: Avatar AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860412
Kudos: 6





	The Crows

“I take it some of that is for me?”

“Of course, Sifu Mineo.” Sugawara greeted the old man who grinned at him from behind the front desk. “I have to keep Daichi in your good graces somehow, don’t I?” He deposited a paper bag of kale cookies next to a stack of flyers that read _Northways_ _Bending_ _Gym_ in bold lettering. He paused, remembering something Daichi said about memberships declining after a modern facility opened a few blocks away. Northways was well-known for being old school, like the gyms where pro-bending originated, but of course Republic City didn’t always appreciate traditional. “Doing some advertising? I can take some on my way out and put them up in the Little Water Tribe, if you’d like.”

“Why, that would be perfect!” Mineo shook his head with a fond look. “I’m tellin’ you, it’s upstanding young men like you fellows who are keeping this city from going to the goat-dogs. I just wish I could steal you from Narook’s— but then how would I get my kale cookies?” He let out a hearty laugh, waving away Sugawara’s assurances that it was the least he could do. Mineo popped a cookie in his mouth, calling as Suga made his way to the back, “Sawamura has a client, but he’s in the usual room with Yu and your long-haired friend!”

Nishinoya’s grandpa could never remember Asahi’s name, much to his dismay and everyone else’s delight. Suga chuckled as he strolled past lockers and small training rooms until he got to the large open-air courtyard where Daichi worked. He spotted Noya and Asahi in the back and gave them a wave. Toward the entrance, Daichi’s client was scaling a climbing wall, using earthbending to create grips and footholds as he went. Daichi stood at the bottom in a tank top and Suga’s favorite pair of harem pants, occasionally driving his foot into the ground to send a tremor through the wall. Suga sighed, leaning against a wooden post along the outside hall. He loved Daichi’s job.

“Good job!” His boyfriend clapped, “Let’s take a quick water break before we move on to balance exercises.” 

Sugawara knocked on the column, coughing innocently. “Excuse me?” he called in a loud voice, “Someone ordered seaweed noodles to go with their hunk of man meat?”

He heard a snort from the other side of the courtyard and Daichi whipped around with a beet-red face. Spirits, it was too easy. His client looked a little stricken but Suga didn’t care. He had to assert himself over these jacked gym rats somehow, didn’t he? “Uh, let’s make that a fiver,” Daichi stuttered before jogging over to Suga. He frowned as took his to-go container, wrapped in blue fabric. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

Suga crossed his arms. “Thank you for lunch, honey. I’d starve without you, babe,” he said in a mocking tone.

“Thanks for embarrassing me in front of a member, too, _babe_ ,” Daichi rolled his eyes.

Sugawara just snickered. Daichi looked like he was gearing up for a lecture but Suga was saved when Nishinoya and Asahi wandered over. He high-fived Noya and gave Asahi, who was sweaty and breathing heavily, a smack in the gut. “Getting your ass kicked, huh? What’s the point of all those muscles if you can’t even spar with a guy like Noya without getting winded?”

“He’s way better at defense!” Asahi protested, looking deflated, “I can barely land a hit.”

Noya put a hand on his arm. “Asahi’s going great, he almost singed my eyebrows off! He just needs to have more confidence,” he beamed.

“Almost singeing your eyebrows off is exactly why I don’t have confidence.” Asahi sighed, glancing down at Noya’s hand with flushing cheeks.

Suga and Daichi exchanged glances but Suga just said, “Well I can’t stay, I have to get back to the restaurant before my break’s over. Are we still on for drinks with Tanaka later?”

“Actually Ryu said we should come by the diner later, he didn’t have any clients today so he picked up a shift to help Saeko out.”

Daichi scratched his head. “Are you sure she’s fine with us hanging out there? We get...rowdy sometimes.” 

“Big Sis Saeko? No way, she loves when we show up!” Noya gave a thumbs up.

Asahi laughed, “But does her boss?” 

“Hey, I get a free beer out of it either way so I don’t care,” Suga said with a grin, waving goodbye to Noya and Asahi as they returned to their workout. He turned to Daichi and tugged on the front of his shirt. “Now pay up for those noodles I worked so hard to deliver.” Before his boyfriend could protest, he pulled him in for a deep kiss. Suga released him with a sly smile playing over his lips. “See you later, Sawamura,” he breathed.

Their friends whistled and whooped as Daichi, red-faced once again, apologized profusely to his client. 

“Oi, Suga!” Noya yelled as he was leaving, “Tell the old man not to eat all my kale cookies!”

Suga delivered the message and grabbed a stack of fliers on his way out. As he settled into his seat on the streetcar, his eyes fell on a bubble at the bottom of the ad. 

_Coming Next Month: Northways Bending Gym Hosts Its Annual Pro-Bending Borough Tournament!! Big Prize Money! A Chance to Play in the Official League!_

He stared at the words for a minute. A smile slowly spread across his face as a stupid, amazing idea came into his head.

Suga raced excitedly home from work, but since their apartment was in the Little Water Tribe he didn’t really need to hurry to beat Daichi there. He jumped up when their front door opened, tossing aside his book. “Hey!”

“Hey.” Daichi dropped his gym bag in the entryway. Suga leaned in for a kiss but he merely pressed his lips against Suga’s forehead. 

_Oh_. 

Suga crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “You’re still mad about earlier? Y’know, I wanted to grab your ass too, but I didn’t. So really you should be thanking me,” he teased, raising an eyebrow.

“Koshi-” Daichi sighed disappointedly. Suga’s expression deflated. He was in it now— mad Daichi was one thing, but disappointed Daichi was way worse. “You know I don’t mind when you stop by,” he frowned, putting his hands on Suga’s hips, “But Sifu Mineo already did so much giving me this job, and with the way the gym’s doing lately...”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare away any customers,” Suga said, toying with the collar of Daichi’s shirt. He pursed his lips. “But sometimes I see the people you’re training and I feel like I gotta remind them who’s boss. I mean, who even was that one guy last week? I know it’s August but put a shirt on, y’know?”

Suga felt the grip on his waist tighten. A grin spread over Daichi’s face. “Wait a second. Is somebody jealous?”

“Okay, that’s not what I said-” Suga tapped Daichi’s chest as his face went red against his will.

Daichi laughed, grabbing his hands with flashing eyes. “No, you’re totally jealous! That’s adorable.”

“Alright, watch it,” he mumbled, “Or you’ll lose your seaweed noodle privileges even before I go back to teaching.”

But Daichi wasn’t done. He put on a sad face, evidently set on punishing Suga further. “You really think that poorly of me? That just the sight of a buff guy is enough to make me lose control?”

“No, you’re not my aunt.” Sugawara rolled his eyes. “Can we move on? I said I was sorry.”

“Fine.” Daichi held his chin and kissed him, smiling against his lips. “But y’know last week I really wanted to grab that guy’s ass, and I didn’t. So really you should be thanking me.”

Suga tsked. “Asshole,” he mumbled, clasping his hands around the back of Daichi’s neck to pull him closer. He could have fallen deep into that kiss, losing himself in the feeling of Daichi pressing him against the wall and burying his hands in his silver hair, but he forced himself to pull away. Daichi chased his lips but Suga only gave him a quick peck before ducking out of his touch. “There’s something I wanted to ask you-” He grabbed a Northways flier off the kitchen counter and held it out to Daichi, tapping the bottom. “Have you seen this?”

His boyfriend took it and sat down at the kitchen. “The pro-bending tournament? Yeah, Sifu Mineo does it every year. It’s sort of a minor league thing, there’s a few gyms across the city that host them to drum up support for local teams.” He glanced up and, seeing Suga’s eager expression, pressed his lips into a thin line. “I- are you serious? You want to enter?”

Suga sat beside him, grabbing his arm. “C’mon Daichi, at least consider it.”

“Suga, we haven’t done anything like this since our school days.” 

“That’s exactly why we should compete! Don’t you remember how _fun_ it was, the rush?” He grinned, and could tell from the look on Daichi’s face that he was also getting flooded with memories from their days in the youth league. It’d been only semi-formal, but the competition could be fierce. It was how he, Suga, and Asahi had become good friends, and how they met Tanaka and Noya. It was also how they’d gotten to learn from some of the best benders in Republic City. “Besides, it’s not like that was ages ago. We’re not _that_ old.”

Daichi couldn’t deny that his pulse had quickened at the thought of stepping into the ring again, but still, he hesitated. “I don’t know, Suga. The guys at these things are aspiring pros, would we even stand a chance?”

“With Sawamura the Rock? The guy who helped train the _Avatar_? We’ll demolish them!”

“Okay, I was never called _the rock_ ,” Daichi threw his head back in laughter, “But we were pretty good in high school, huh?”

“The best,” Suga grinned. “Well, maybe not the best- but if we work hard for the next month we could be a force to be reckoned with. And wouldn’t it be nice to bring in some extra money, maybe enough to finally move out?”

Daichi glanced around their studio apartment. They’d done it up nicely, but it definitely wasn’t ideal. “It would be nice not to live in the same building as your grandma.”

Suga snickered. “You mean you don’tlove having to put out all twelve housewarming pelts whenever she shows up unannounced?” 

Daichi sighed, laying his hand over Suga’s with a smile. “Alright, fine. Let’s do it.”

“Yes!” Sugawara grabbed his face and kissed him. 

“Hold up-” Daichi raised his brows. “You know he’ll never agree to this.”

“Oh, he’ll agree. I have a plan.”

* * *

Tanaka, fresh off a busboy shift and still wearing a rag around his head, was already scarfing down a combo platter when their group got to the Dragon Flats Diner later that night. He waved them down, calling something incomprehensible through a mouthful of food.

“-I just don’t think I can do it,” Asahi was saying.

“See? I told you, he’s a coward.” Daichi leveled a look of disdain at him as they slid into their booth.

Before Asahi, who was already sweating under his friend’s frigid gaze, could defend himself Saeko appeared with a tablet and pen in her hand. “What’s up guys? Yu, looking cool as always! Sawamura, I see you’re keeping it tight.” She elbowed Daichi’s shoulder roughly and winked at Suga. “Sorry for spoiling your barhopping plans tonight, but wasn’t my baby brother so sweet to help me out?” She grinned devilishly, putting Tanaka in a headlock until he started choking on a dumpling.

They all assured her it was no problem and enthusiastically accepted her offer of free fire flakes. Sugawara suggested they order drinks and their conversation wandered naturally, from work to Tanaka’s dating life to Kageyama’s latest write-up in the tabloids. When Saeko plunked a mug of beer down in front of Asahi, Suga grinned. “Drink up, Asahi! It’s on me.” 

Daichi side-eyed him. “This is your plan?” he muttered.

“You’re not going to buy me off, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Asahi warned as he took a sip. 

Suga scoffed into his drink. “So suddenly the mouse has found his courage, huh?” 

Asahi rubbed the back of his neck meekly but wouldn’t budge on the subject no matter what tactic Suga and Daichi tried, be it flattery, bribery, or blackmail. The argument lasted through their second round, when Asahi said, “I was never good, anyway! I’d only hold you guys back. Why don’t you ask Tanaka?” 

“Oh hell no-” Tanaka drained his mug and slammed it down on the table. “You know I’d never leave my bro like that. If I’m on a pro-bending team with anyone, it’s Noya.”

“Hell yeah!” Nishinoya shouted, raising his glass. “Wait— should we join the old man’s bending tournament?!”

Tanaka’s face lit up. “It _would_ be sweet to get that prize money. You think Gramps would rig the bracket for us?”

Asahi sputtered into his beer. “Do you even have a waterbender?”

“Duh, Ennoshita will do it!”

“You sure about that?” Daichi smiled.

“Of course!” Noya beamed, a determined glint in his eye, “We can get the old team back together, and we’ll kick just as much ass as we did in high school!”

“And we can come up with a kick-ass new name,” Tanaka cackled. “Something manly, like the Blazing Tigersharks!”

“Or the Blazing Sea Vultures!”

“Or the Blazing Demon Wolfbats!”

“Demon wolfbats?” Daichi asked.

Suga raised a brow. “Why are they blazing?”

Noya shook his head like they were children too young to understand something obvious. “It’s always cooler when they’re blazing.”

“See what you’re missing, Asahi?” Suga laughed, “Getting the old team back together? We could re-brand as the Blazing Spiderwasps.”

Asahi was clearly trying not to give in, but he couldn’t help smiling. “Way cooler than the plain old Crows. What were we thinking?”

“So you’ll do it?” Daichi prompted.

“I dunno...” Asahi looked down at his drink. “I don’t want to end up inconveniencing you guys.”

Daichi leaned forward, his expression serious. “Asahi, I once saw a guy take a dive off the arena rather than face one of your fireballs head-on. You were one of the best guys in the league.”

“You can’t honestly tell us you don’t miss it,” Suga went on, “You spend all day in that stuffy tailor’s shop, just training with Noya can’t be enough. Won’t you at least give it a shot? This is just a local tournament, the pressure’s low. Let’s reunite the Crows!”

Asahi hesitated for a long minute, glancing between his friends’ boring eyes and Noya’s encouraging nods. Finally he sighed, hanging his head. When he lifted it back up, he was grinning. “Okay. Let’s go for it!”

The table erupted in cheers. Noya clapped Asahi on the back and Suga grabbed his hands tightly. Tanaka stood up in his seat to holler across the room for more beer.

The moon loomed high in the night sky by the time they staggered out of the Dragon Flats Diner. They left Tanaka in Saeko’s hands after multiple promises that she wouldn’t let him fall off her motorcycle. Nishinoya and Asahi both lived nearby so they went off together, vowing to have a scrimmage at Northways by the end of the week. Daichi and Suga waved goodbye and set off for the streetcar arm in arm, laughing as they heard Noya’s booming voice echo down the block. 

“I hope the trolley is still running,” Daichi said, glancing at the clock on the corner, “I don’t wanna have to walk all the way to the railway station.”

“If it’s out you’re carrying me home,” Suga mumbled, already making Daichi prop him up as he leaned into him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He nuzzled his face against the warm plane of Daichi’s chest. “You could do it. You’re so strong.”

Daichi giggled, the laugh that always came out when he was tipsy, and kissed the top of Suga’s head. “If you say so, Koshi,” he smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair from his boyfriend’s flushed face. 

“It’s true!” 

“You think?” Daichi grinned and suddenly scooped his arm under Suga’s knees to lift him up to his chest in a smooth motion. He teetered for a second, laughing as Sugawara squawked his name. When Suga threw his arms around the back of Daichi’s neck to anchor himself, he pulled him up further to press a soft, slow kiss to his lips. Suga made a little noise and started kissing him back but Daichi nearly lost his balance completely and had to put him down. They stood in each other’s arms on the street corner, laughing and trying to catch their breath, until they heard the tinkling bell of an approaching trolley. 

“Oh crap! Daichi, we gotta go!” Suga grabbed his hand and pulled him along as they ran to the stop. 

They collapsed onto an empty bench and let the rumbling of the car fill their comfortable silence as it lumbered toward the Little Water Tribe. Suga let his head fall against Daichi’s shoulder, his eyes closing under the weight of the night’s beer. The gentle rise and fall of his boyfriend’s chest, the steadiness of the hand on his shoulder, was comforting. “I love you, Daichi,” he sighed.

He felt Daichi’s chest vibrate with a hum. “I love you, too.”

“We’re gonna kick some pro-bending ass, right?”

A puff of air tickled his hair. “Right, Suga.”


End file.
